Router Vs Shaper Raised Panel Doors

The difference is the size of the profile on the panel.

Router vs shaper raised panel doors.

I would not recommend full profile with a router bit. The shaper is more sturdy and should have a better fence and will likely have more power and speed and flexibility. With curved panels you just have to use a rub collar sometimes a template underneath. Reverse if you ever had issues with your wood splitting out because of grain direction a shaper has made your work easier by being able to run in reverse.

I will say it s much more intimidating raising a curved raised panel on a shaper than a router table but don t attempt to learn yourself have someone knowledgeable show you. Raised panels 2 1 4hp or 3 1 4hp if your planning on making many doors at all save yourself the headaches and buy a good quality shaper. Ian kirby a good quality shaper is preferable to a good quality router. Shaper cutters can also cut much wider profiles such as those in raised panels and crown moldings.

The cutting speed you want is dependent on the diameter of the cutter or bit. Shapers typically run at 7 000 to 10 000 rpm while routers typically run at 22 000 to 25 000 rpm. Larger shaper cutters and oversize router bits like panel raisers require slower speeds while small router bits need higher speeds to do the job. Routers are not set up with this function.

If you are going to be building a number of 5 piece doors with cope and stick joints the shaper is really the only way to go. The extra money will be well worth it. I have used a full profile 4 and 5 8 raised panel cutter on my shaper to make raised panels out of oak and softer hardwoods soft maple elm cedar and think that you could definitely run full profile in pine. You can run a 5 diameter cutter on a shaper.

Yes a 1 5 hp shaper is better suited for the tasks you mentioned. Overall a shaper can be safer because of the power feeder. Router tables are typically for home shops whereas shapers are used industrial. When making large doors the smaller profile provided by a router bit sometimes doesn t look to scale on the project.

That s not to say that you can t have a shaper in your garage though. The biggest panel raiser you can run on a router is 3 1 2 diameter. If you look at a 1 1 2 hp motor on a router then look at the 1 1 2 hp motor on my powermatic shaper the shaper motor is about 4 times as big.